Friday, July 29, 2005

Daniel Lamb deserves a big thank you for putting together race results this year. The results for GN Series B are now posted on the PCYC website.

(Brian & Madeleine Palfreeman's Etchells)

In PHRF 1&2 Pierre Jasmin’s Etchells is beginning to run away from the fleet. He has two wins out of three, and doesn’t miss a race. Etchells are in all three top spots. Brian Palfreeman is in second, and he also hasn’t missed a race. Keith Matthews is tied for third with Moonraker, a Niagra 26. The Etchells dominate this start line, but there are some other good boats that could break through their fleet.With three races completed so far there are some predictable, and some interesting results so far.

Robert Levy and Joe Jospe are battling for top Fireball. Each has one DNC (Did Not Compete) out of the three races. When Levy didn’t race, Jospe took 1st. When Jospe didn’t compete, Levy took 1st. In the one race together so far, it was Levy taking the bullet, and Jospe second. Nick Mocchiutti on #13216 is in third with a 2nd, 3rd, and DNC. #13216 is clearly sailed by a hot new duo in the fleet, which includes “Rob” as crew.

In White Sail Toby Jennings’ Tanzer 22 is leading the pack with one bullet and 13 points overall. It is an interesting contest as there are at least three other boats in contention. Helmut Langeder’s Tanzer 22 and a C&C 27, Mandara are tied for second with 15 points. Laird Glass, who picked up third in the last race, is close behind with 18 points. These boats are trading higher and lower placings in each race. New to me is a Grampian 26, “Sawiki”, that has been on the race course each evening.

The second race was a battle of the BIG boats. A C&C 41, Special Effect took first, and Roy Carter’s Alberg 37, Capricorn took second. The sails on these two boats tower over the fleet, and when the wind picks up, Capricorn really finds its stride. The C&C 41 is pretty modern looking, and the Alberg is a genuine classic, both beautiful to watch. Watch out around the marks though!

PHRF 3 is now a three-way battle at the top between the standard bearers of different classes! Leading the way in a Tanzer 22 is Jake Fichten. Next is Shark sailor extrodinaire, George Stedman in Ketchup. Richard and Erica Moore in their Mirage 24 are having a great year, placing third so far in this series. Fourth is Don McDonough in his Shark. You can recognize Don’s Shark via his son who is sporting new red hair. All four of these boats are sailing out of PCYC. However the field is deep, as a number of other Tanzers and Sharks have placed ahead of these boats in some races. These boats are mostly from BYC and PCYC. There is also a hot Tanzer 22 from LRYC, Goin’ Strait who took one bullet. Also easily within striking distance of the top three are John Linton’s Tanzer 22, Encore Une Fois, and the Tanzer 22, Sweet Pea, sailed by Brendan Remenyi, both from BYC. Good sailors are competing throughout this fleet as well. Without a doubt, this is a great contest to compete in!

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Montreal area sailors take the Shark Championship, and place well throughout the 33 boat fleet! The regatta was held July 23-24th at Kingston Yacht Club.

Tof Nicoll-Griffith sailing 1465 with Hugh Strudwick, and Kai Nicoll-Griffith are the new Canadian champions. Sailing with remarkable consistency Tof never picked up a bullet, but placed 2nd three times, 3rd once, and 10th once. They were able to drop a 12th placing in the 4th race, netting them 19 points overall, two points less than the 2nd place boat overall, Andrew Barlow's Marmoset. Tof sails out of Pointe Claire Yacht Club.

Jeff Mitchell's Frankly Scarlet from Bronte took the last podium spot, edging out North Sail rep Paul Davis' Shadfly from Kingston. Johan Koppernaes (current World Champ) from Nepean took 5th in Shark Poop.

George Stedman's Ketchup out of Pointe Claire YC placed 5th at the recent World's but didn't sail this regatta. More Montrealers did though, and did very well.

Jin Frati, sailing Blue Heron blew away the fleet in the first two races placing 2nd and 4th. Those were Blue Heron's best finishes, as some Ontario boats then pushed ahead. Blue Heron continued to sail in the top tier for 8th overall. Jin had Jamie Andre dela Porte, and Krista Burnham on board. Jamie is a regular in Montreal's Star fleet.

Paul Baehr, always a strong competitor, sailing Sudden Impulse with Sarita Maizel, and William Sishakley placed 16th overall, and plucked a 9th position out of the third race.

Newcomers this year to the Shark fleet, Don Osborne, Nick Van Haeften, and Tim Marshall placed 19th in Megalo Don. They pegged a 3rd in the second race of the regatta. Don and Nick are cohorts from a variety of fleets ranging from the Fireball to the J24. More recently they sailed in a Tanzer 22, Montreal's largest keelboat fleet, picking up a North American Championship. Tim Marshall is a Laser competitor, out of the Venture Sailing Club. One might speculate that this trio could be giving other Montrealers a hard time, a boat to watch!

Blue Heron, Sudden Impulse, and Megalo Don are sailed out of Beaconsfield YC.

Friday, July 22, 2005

July 12th, the second inter-club series has gotten off to a good start with 36 boats racing in four divisions. Winds were light but held up nicely.

A sailor to watch (pictured at right) is Toby Jennings. Toby just began sailing last year, and is pressing the veterans in the white sail division. He took a lot of bullets and top place finishes in the previous series. On this evening he took third. Toby is rigging up his Tanzer 22, #1253 with spinnaker gear, and will be a boat to contend with in that class as well. Racing within the white division, it's been fun to observe three T22s duking it out, Jennings, Laird Glass, and Helmut Langeder. A boat unidentified by the race officials took first on this evening, with the sail #161. Norman Ward's Clair de Lune, a C&C 27 took second.

Jake Fichten's Tanzer 22, Sine Wave, managed to hold off George Stedman's Shark, Ketchup to take the gun in PHRF 3. These boats will be top contenders for the series flag. John Linton's Tanzer 22, Encore Une Fois took third. Linton has been very competitive this year, and will likely press the top boats. The Etchells crowd made a strong showing with 7 boats on the start line for PHRF 1&2. Pierre Jasmin took the first win over "Quill", from Hudson YC.

The Fireballs brought 6 boats to the start line. Joe Jospe took the first win. #13216, second. Kudos must go to Paula Stone who showed the right stuff to place third.

Thursday, July 21, 2005

The Shark fleet in Montreal is enjoying a resurgence adding new members to the fleet. They were ably represented at the recent World Championship in Windsor. George Stedman, Rob Levy, and Peter Kelly sailing Ketchup even took a bullet in the 7th race, and placed 5th overall out of 43 boats! Tof Nicoll Griffith, Strudwick, and Nicoll-Griffith placed 20th, Jin Frati with Lehmann and Barnum sailing the well known Blue Heron, took 2nd in a latter race, and placed 21st overall. Paul Baehr sailing the beautiful Sudden Impulse with Maizel and Charrette took 6th in their best and placed 26th overall. The Shark World's, we all know, is a very challenging regatta with many of the best sailors biting at the bit. It appears the Montreal contingent can sail with the best of them.

Montreal Sailing would also like to acknowledge the creativity of the class in boat names. The winning boat sported the name "Shark Poop" and another entry artfully carried the name "Trailer Park Buoys" written in large with black masking tape. The creators of the hit television show "Trailer Park Boys" would be proud, if not litigating.

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

The Montreal One Design Regatta, hosted by Pointe Claire Yacht Club will take place on August 6th & 7th, 2005. You can now download the Notice of Race and Registration Form in Adobe Acrobat files from the club website. Here is the link: